China is seriously concerned by the Japan-South Korea military intelligence pact

Police officer stands guard near Japan and South Korea
national flags at hotel, where South Korean embassy in Japan is
holding the reception to mark the 50th anniversary of
normalization of ties between Seoul and Tokyo in TokyoThomson Reuters

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's Defence Ministry on Wednesday
expressed serious concern about South Korea and Japan signing a
military intelligence pact to share sensitive information on the
threat posed by North Korea's missile and nuclear activities.

The signing of the General Security of Military Information
Agreement had originally been expected in 2012, but South Korea
postponed it due to domestic opposition.

The case for the neighbors to pool intelligence has increased,
however, as North Korea has been testing different types of
missiles at a faster rate, and claims it has the capability to
mount a nuclear warhead on a missile.

Chinese Defence Ministry spokesman Yang Yujun said the move would
add a new unsafe and unstable element to northeast Asia and
smacked of a Cold War mentality.

"China's military expresses serious concern about this," Yang
told a monthly news briefing, adding to previous opposition to
the deal from the Chinese Foreign Ministry.

Beijing is North Korea's most important supporter despite Chinese
anger at its missile and nuclear tests in defiance of UN Security
Council resolutions. Earlier this month, the Chinese Foreign
Ministry said the agreement would add to tension on the Korean
peninsula.

Reclusive North Korea and the rich, democratic South are
technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in
a truce, not a peace treaty. The North regularly threatens to
destroy the South and its main ally, the United States.

China has also been upset with South Korea for agreeing to host
an advanced U.S. anti-missile system, saying it threatens China's
strategic security.

South Korea went ahead with the deal despite opposition from some
political parties and a large section of the public, who remain
bitter over Japan's actions during its colonial rule of Korea
from 1910 until the end of World War Two.